The Museum of Modern Art presents "The Contenders, 2009," an end-of-the-year program of screenings that offers filmgoers the opportunity to see, on the big screen, a survey of studio pictures and film festival features released in 2009 that MoMA’s film curators consider to be contenders for lasting significance.
From mainstream movies, to independents, foreign-language films, documentaries, and art-house sensations, this collection is presented at MoMA. It is organized by Rajendra Roy, The Celeste Bartos Chief Curator, and Sean Egan, Manager, The Department of Film, The Museum of Modern Art. Films are selected by the department’s curatorial team.
Roy explains, “The significance of these films can be attributed to a variety of factors, from structure to subject matter to use of language, but they are united in their impact on the canon of memorable cinema.”
This year’s 10-week series brings together some 20 films released in the past year. They range from major studio productions such as The Fantastic Mr. Fox to independent films such as My Neighbor My Killer.
Several screenings will feature appearances by directors. These include James Toback, director of Tyson, who will participate in a post-screening Q&A on November 4. On November 5, Vanity Fair special correspondent Matthew Tyrnauer will be present for a Q&A after the screening of his directorial debut, Valentino: The Last Emperor, with the subject of the film, the Italian fashion designer Valentino Garavani. And on December 1, Kathryn Bigelow, director of The Hurt Locker, will be present for a Q&A after the screening.
Opening the series on October 31 is Sam Raimi’s Drag Me to Hell, in which the director—who is known for directing the Spider-Man series among other hit Hollywood films—combines horror, black comedy, gore, and the same outsize imagination that fans remember from his cult horror favorite The Evil Dead (1981). The series closes on January 13, 2010, with another horror film, Lars von Trier’s diabolical Antichrist, which assailed viewers with its exquisitely framed menace when it premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May. Other genre movies include Ruben Fleischer’s comedic, post-apocalyptic Zombieland, and Neill Blomkamp’s South African sci-fi chiller District 9.
Additional popular releases include Wes Anderson’s stop-motion animation adaptation of the children’s book by Roald Dahl, The Fantastic Mr. Fox; Marc Webb’s romantic comedy (500) Days of Summer; and Todd Phillips’ Las Vegas bachelor-party buddy comedy The Hangover. Also featured is Jane Campion’s Bright Star, set in 1818 London, about poet John Keats’ (Ben Winshaw) secret, tragic love affair with the girl next door (Abbie Cornish).
Documentaries showcased in The Contenders, 2009 include French New Wave veteran Agnès Varda’s self-portrait exploring art, life, and the movies, The Beaches of Agnes; and Every Little Step, a documentary directed by James D. Stern and Adam del Deo that looks at the lives of dancers auditioning for the 2006 Broadway revival of the musical A Chorus Line. Every Little Step premiered at MoMA in March 2009 as part of New Directors/New Films, an annual series presented by MoMA and The Film Society of Lincoln Center.
Another film that was featured in 2009’s New Directors/New Films and has also been selected for The Contenders, 2009 is Sebastián Silva’s The Maid, which tells the tragicomic story of a tightly wound domestic servant and her passive-aggressive relationship with the middle-class family that employs her in a powerful lead performance by Catalina Saavedra.
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